Kathleen Dolan (11 April 1921 – February 2003) was an Irish radio announcer, and

RTÉ (; ; RTÉThe É in RTÉ is pronounced as an English E () and not an Irish É ()) is an Irish public service broadcaster. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on television, radio and online. The radio service began on 1 January 1926, ...

's first female announcer.

Early life and family

Kathleen Dolan was born on Church Street,

Strabane Strabane (; ) is a town in County Tyrone, Northern Ireland. Strabane had a population of 13,507 at the 2021 United Kingdom census, 2021 census. This article contains quotations from this source, which is available under th Open Government Li ...

, County Tyrone, Ireland, on 11 April 1921. Her parents were James Dolan and Kathleen Theresa Maude (née Reid). She had a sister and a brother. Her brother was a national school teacher but went on to become secretary of the Irish Agricultural Wholesale Society, part of the Irish co-operative movement. The family moved to Dublin, where her father died in 1924 aged 35. Dolan attended

Loreto College, St Stephen's Green Loreto College, St Stephen's Green (sometimes referred to as Loreto on the Green) is a Catholic all-girls private school situated on St Stephen's Green in Dublin, Ireland. The school was founded at 58 Harcourt Street in 1833 as a convent and schoo ...

, Dublin. She spent time near

Rouen Rouen (, ; or ) is a city on the River Seine, in northwestern France. It is in the prefecture of Regions of France, region of Normandy (administrative region), Normandy and the Departments of France, department of Seine-Maritime. Formerly one ...

, France, to improve her French, returning to Ireland just as

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

broke out. She married Robin (Robert Hartpole Hamilton) McDonnell (1909–1984) in SS Alphonsus and Columba church,

Ballybrack Ballybrack () is a residential suburb of Dublin, in the south of County Dublin. It is in Dún Laoghaire–Rathdown, Ireland. It is southwest of Killiney, northeast of Loughlinstown, east of Cabinteely and north of Shankill. Population T ...

in February 1950 and they went on to have two sons. Her father-in-law was Randal McDonnell, and the McDonnell family were relatives of the

Earl of Antrim Earl () is a rank of the nobility in the United Kingdom. In modern Britain, an earl is a member of the peerage, ranking below a marquess and above a viscount. A feminine form of ''earl'' never developed; instead, ''countess'' is used. The titl ...

. Robin assumed the title of count in later life, known as Count Robert McDonnell of the Glens. After her husband's death, Dolan returned to Ireland in 1984. She died in February 2003 at her home in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, and is buried in

Glasnevin Cemetery Glasnevin Cemetery () is a large cemetery in Glasnevin, Dublin, Ireland which opened in 1832. It holds the graves and memorials of several notable figures, and has a museum. Location The cemetery is located in Glasnevin, Dublin, in two part ...

Career

Dolan joined

Radio Éireann Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connected to ...

as a reserve announcer in 1944, despite the fact that she was under the minimum age of appointment at the time. Owing to her speaking voice, she became an announcer and newsreader. She was presenter of the weekly Hospitals' requests programme, Radio Éireann most popular show, for six years. She was an active supporter of medical charities, helping Frank Cahill to organise a concert in Dublin's Capitol Cinema in aid of the Post Sanatorium League in 1949. The money raised helped establish the Rehabilitation Institute in Dublin the same year. She resigned from Radio Éireann in 1950 in order to marry. She returned to present ''Between ourselves'', a weekly women's magazine programme, on Radio Éireann in 1953. She left again when she and her husband moved to England in 1956. Dolan wrote children's stories one of which, ''Sean the leprechaun'', was produced in 1971 as a cartoon for television in English and

Welsh Welsh may refer to: Related to Wales * Welsh, of or about Wales * Welsh language, spoken in Wales * Welsh people, an ethnic group native to Wales Places * Welsh, Arkansas, U.S. * Welsh, Louisiana, U.S. * Welsh, Ohio, U.S. * Welsh Basin, during t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dolan, Kathleen 1921 births 2003 deaths People from Strabane Irish children's writers Irish women children's writers Irish women radio presenters 20th-century Irish women writers Irish radio presenters People educated at Loreto College, St Stephen's Green Irish expatriates in France Broadcasters from County Tyrone